HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-08-31, Page 11Star Column: Steaming teapots!
John Hlynialuk
Bluewater Astronomical
Society
With the Milky Way so
prominently placed at this
time of year, it is easy to pick
out one of my favourite con-
stellations, Sagittarius the
Archer, not because it looks
like an Archer, but because it
looks like a Teapot.
If you think that it is a long
stretch of imagination,
-Archer toTeapot, not so. I'll
explain, by way of a little
constellation history.
Ancient astronomers (astrolo-
gers, actually) of the Sumerian
and Arabic cultures invented
some ofthe constellations we use
today. More were added by
Greeks and Romans from their
mythology, so we have Hercules
and Pegasus from the Greeks, as
well as Leo and Scorpius from
Babylonian star charts.
By the middle of the 18th
century, the previously -unseen
southern skies had also been
organized into an additional 14
star patterns. Astronomers who
took on the monumental task
of cataloging stars, rightly felt
they should be rewarded
(immortalized?) for their work
so they created many different
(some very personal) sets of
constellations. One minor
assistant Nicolaus Venator, even
attached his name to stars in
Delphinus the Dolphin. The
alpha star of Delphinus is still
called Sualocin on modern
charts. (Hint: read the name
backwards).
To end the starry chaos, the
International Astronomical
Union decided in 1922 on alist of
88 constellations (eliminating
some plain silly ones like Fells the
Cat) andformalizedconstellation
borders.The charts had no art
work, so artists even today con-
tinue to "join the dots" and create
fanciful creatures, one such
depicting Aquarius the Water
Carrier as awaiterand Sagittarius
as a Teapot. (You can see we are
gettingthere).
Modem star charts help star-
gazers by adding lines to create
easy -to -recognize stick figures
like the Big Dipper or Cygnus
the Swan whose stick figure is a
big cross like a long -necked
swan with outstretched wings.
In the 1950's, illustrator and
author Harold A. Rey created a
simple set of these in a chil-
dren's book called "The Stars -a
New Way To See Them" and
these stick figures have become
commonplace in astronomy.
H.A.Rey is more familiar to
many readers as the author of
the "Curious George" stories.
So, if I cannot see an Archer
when I look at Sagittarius, it is
because I see Rey's Teapot.
There is the handle, the lid and
the spout with steam (the Milky
Way) wafting out. And there is
no need to get that picture out
of my mind because "learning
the constellations" is not seeing
the ancient creatures of mythol-
ogy, but just recognizing simple
Wednesday, August 31, 2016 • Lucknow Sentinel 11
Image c/o Starry Night Education
Two depictions of the constellation Sagittarius.
patterns. The Teapot lid, for
example, is a triangle and near
the top star is a globular cluster
of several hundred thousands
stars that look glorious in even
small telescopes. In the rhom-
bus -shape of Lyra, along the
line that connects the bottom
two stars is a faint "smoke" ring
from a dying star, the Ring Neb-
ula, and we can see that with
our telescope, too.
So do go out with a simple
star chart and look above the
southern horizon after dark
these nights for the stick -figure
Teapot. Itis easy to spot. Or join
our well-connected astrono-
mers at the Fox Observatory for
a tour of the constellations with
laser pointer and telescope.
See www.bluewateras-
tronomy.com for a schedule.
In the steam from the Tea-
pot, there are some wonder-
ful sights to see!
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COMMUNITY BRIDAL SHOWER
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Sunday September 11, 2016
2p.m.-4p.m.
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Coming Events
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DECORATE YOUR YARD
For Lucknow's Fall Fair. See page 20 of the
fall fair book.
LUCKNOW HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
General Meeting, Tuesday, Sept 6, 7:30
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PARADE
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Thank you to everyone that attended my
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everyone involved in hosting it. -Erin
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HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION EVENT
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The family of the late Bill Gibson would to
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many ways - food in abundance brought to
our home, cards, visits, calls, the prayer -
shawl, the angels and garden stones, many
meals out with friends, the floral tributes
and charity donations. Thank you to the
nurses who made Bill feel so at home dur-
ing his month long stay in hospital and his
11 days at Braemar. To Doug McBurney &
Dana for their guidance, care, and compas-
sion during this difficult time. To my sister,
Mary, for her amazing music during the ser-
vice. To Sandra & Joan for preparing meals
for our family & for always being there for
us. To the Legion ladies for a great lunch
after the funeral. To Rev Peggy Kinsman
for a wonderful service and to Rev. Richard
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but not least our amazing daughter Rhonda
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and for her touching, loving tribute to her
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